House of Commons Commission

Nurseries

Michael Fabricant: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, how many children can be accommodated by the House of Commons crèche; what proportion of that figure the average usage of the crèche was in each of the last three years; and what the net profit or loss of the crèche was in each of those years.

John Thurso: The House of Commons Nursery has the capacity to care for 40 children, of which no more than 15 can be under the age of two. In each of the last three years, average usage of the nursery was2011/12: 25%;  2012/13: 31%;  2013/14: 41%.Usage is highest at times of the week and times of the year when the House is sitting. Usage continues to increase with 14 new applications made at the end of July 2014.The net cost of the Nursery was2011/12: £120,160;  2012/13: £100,550;  2013/14: £32,170.1The increasing usage is expected to lead to the Nursery breaking even in this financial year.1 From 2013/14 some administrative work previously charged to the Nursery has been absorbed by the Diversity & Inclusion Team. This is estimated to have reduced the identified cost by some £12k.

Deputy Prime Minister

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what proportion of his Department's budget for Electoral Registration Transformation Programme has been spent on registering additional citizens to vote in the current financial year; and what assessment he has made of the performance of that Programme in that function.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what proportion of his Department's Election and Democracy Division budget has been spent on registering additional voters in the 2014-15 financial year.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what proportion of his Department's Parliament and Constitution Division's budget has been spent on registering additional voters in the 2014-15 financial year.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Government has budgeted £99 million during this Parliament to deliver Individual Electoral Registration (IER), which includes the introduction of online registration. The ability to register on a computer or smartphone in as little as three minutes makes registering to vote quicker and more accessible than ever before. Local Authorities and Valuation Joint Boards have received over £39 million of this budget to support the transition to IER.This funding is managed by the Electoral Registration Transformation Programme in the Cabinet Office’s Constitution Group, and covers the investment made by the Cabinet Office in registering citizens to vote.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the decision-making process was for the distribution of his Department's £4.2 million Innovation Fund to improve voter registration.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The £4.2 million fund was aimed at maximising electoral registration throughout the transition to Individual Electoral Registration – the Innovation Fund was part of this.Five national organisations received funding through the Innovation fund, to test ways of improving democratic engagement among under registered groups were selected on merit for their innovative ideas, insight, networks and knowledge of specific groups.

Innovation Fund

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, from which organisation complaints have been received about the allocation of funding from the Innovation Fund.

Mr Sam Gyimah: No formal complaints were received about the allocation of funding from the Innovation Fund.

Ministry of Defence

Islamic State

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the number of Islamic State militants fighting in Syria and Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Mark Francois: It is difficult to estimate the exact number of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants fighting in Iraq and Syria. In Iraq in particular, other insurgent groups and militias have allied with ISIL and operate alongside it, complicating any estimate of ISIL’s numbers. It is likely though that ISIL can mobilise several thousand fighters across both countries. However we cannot be more specific at this time.

Army: Recruitment

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) required and (b) actual number of Regular Army recruits was for the (i) Small Arms School Corps, (ii) Royal Army Dental Corps, (iii) Intelligence Corps, (iv) Royal Army Physical Training Corps, (v) Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps, (vi) Corps of Army Music and (vii) Senior Soldier Continuity Posts (Long Service) in each year between 2010-11 and 2013-14.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) required and (b) actual number of Regular Army recruits in the (i) Household Cavalry and Royal Armoured Corps, (ii) Royal Artillery, (iii) Royal Engineers, (iv) Royal Signals, (v) Infantry and (vi) Army Air Corps was in each year between 2010-11 and 2013-14.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) required and (b) actual number of Regular Army recruits was for the (i) Royal Logistic Corps, (ii) Royal Army Medical Corps, (iii) Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, (iv) Adjutant General's Corps (Provost), (v) Adjutant General's Corps (Staff and Personnel Support) and (vi) Royal Army Veterinary Corps in each year between 2010-11 and 2013-14.

Mr Julian Brazier: The information is provided in the attached table. These figures relate to those joining the trained strength of the Army having completed initial training. Senior Soldier Continuity posts, the Small Arms School Corps and the Royal Army Physical Training Corps are manned from members of other Corps and do not recruit externally, and are not listed in the table.  



Army Trained Strength table
(Word Document, 76.5 KB)

Armed Forces Covenant

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Armed Forces Covenant Annual Report 2013, page 67, what progress has been made on the review of public transport issues affecting service families living in remote areas; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: Since the Armed Forces Covenant Annual Report 2012, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has systematically been reviewing the public transport arrangements in place for all locations where there is Defence housing. Where the location of Service family accommodation does not have reasonable access to essential amenities, including public transport, this is reflected in reduced charges for accommodation. Furthermore, when setting charges in the future we plan to look in more detail at the location of Service accommodation based on the Department for Transport’s (DfT) accessibility indicators, which also consider travel time to health and education services and food stores, and also modern requirements such broadband speed. Separately, the MOD is working with DfT and The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) to improve transport links at Defence sites. Work has been undertaken to highlight the importance of considering the needs of service personnel and their families in setting local transport provisions in line with the commitment that those who serve in the Armed Forces and their families should face no disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public or commercial services.In 2013, DfT Engagement Teams who are responsible for engaging with local authorities on transport matters in England met with authorities to highlight the importance of supporting the Armed Forces Covenant. Engagement meetings with local authorities across England were used to raise awareness of the many armed forces establishments located in isolated areas and the lack of choice military families have over the location of their Service accommodation which means that some families face transport difficulties and also struggle to maintain employment as a result of their mobility. Similarly, DCLG published advice on provisions for locations where there is Defence housing in their Guidance on Travel Plans, Transport Assessments and Statements in decision-taking. This publication contains guidance for local authorities on the special consideration owed to service personnel and their families particularly in setting local transport strategies and plans that should consider the particular requirements of any Armed Forces families in their area.The MOD will continue to monitor the issue through the Families Federations.

Armed Forces Covenant

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Armed Forces Covenant Annual Report 2013, page 25, when his Department plans to publish the initial findings of its study of the causes of death of veterans of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence hopes to publish the first report on deaths amongst veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts in 2015-16. The work to link the cohort of over 500,000 personnel records with the deaths register held by the Health and Social Care Information Service (HSCIC) is in the early stages and a release schedule for the results is still being finalised but we hope that the information will be available for publication in the next financial year.